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The original speedcore merchants, Cryptic Slaughter dealt a West Coast hand into the late-‘80s crossover movement, a movement that saw the normally warring armies of punk rock and thrash metal finally come together into a unified front bent on exposing social injustice and political hypocrisy. Powered by a previously unimagined sense of informed aggression, Cryptic Slaughter's uncompromising political stance and lightning-fast tempos ultimately proved too harsh for mainstream tastes, but their status as underground legends remains unquestioned. Vocalist/bassist Bill Crooks, guitarists Les Evans and Adam Scott, and drummer Scott Peterson first met while playing on their high-school soccer team, and formed Cryptic Slaughter in 1984. Scott was soon on the outs, but the remaining trio still managed to cut the five-song Life in Grave demo by May of the following year. Its sheer speed and unbridled ferocity quickly made it a favorite conversation piece on the all-important underground tape...